Mechanically-operated multiple-unit door-control system for cars



April 14, 1925.

' 1,533,! 10 F. HEDLEY ET AL MECHANICALLY ormwrzn MULTIPLE um'r noon coumon sx'srzu FOR CARS Filed July 25, 1919 2 Sheets-Shoot 1 fizraizz'al" April 14, 1925. 1,533,110

F. HEDLEY ET AL MECHANICALLY OYIRATED MULTIPLE UNIT DOOR CONTROL SYSTEM FOR CARS Fil ed July 25, 1919, 2 Sheets-$13001. 2

Patented Apr. 14, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEQ FRANK HEDLEY, or YONKERS, AND JAMES s. DOYLE, or MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK.

MECHANICALLY-OPEEATED MULTIELE-UNIT DOOR-CONTROL SYSTEM FORCARS.

Application filed July 25, 1919. Serial No, 313,405.

To all; whom it "my concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK Hunter and Janus Dorms, both citizens of the United 7 The object of the invention is to provide a multiple unit door control system which is simple, e'liiciei'it, economical to manufacture, install or maintain, and wherein the desired control oi. the doors oi? cars is ell'ectedmcchanically.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door control system of the nature referred to wherein the proper operation of all the. doors on the same sideo't adjacentcurs of a train is accomplished mechanically from the same station and by asingle operator.

A. further object is to provide a door con trol system of the nature referred to wherein the doors are motor operated in their opening and closing movements, and wherein the operating motors for the doors on each side of the car are. all mechanically controlled from the same point or station at either end of the car. I 7

- Other objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter. i

The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination, location and relative arrangement oi? parts, all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth, as shown by the accompanying drawings, and finally pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings,-

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of one car and a portion of the adjacent end of another car in a train of cars showing the aplication thereto ot a mechanically operated multiple unit door control system embodying the principles of our invention.

2 is a broken view in side elevation of one end of a car showing the mechanically operated control devices.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the car.

Fig. i is a broken view in perspective and connections suitable for use in carrying out our invention. i

Fig. 5 is a broken view in vertical se o transversely of the car showing a door operating motor and mechanical control connections therefor in accordance with the principles of our invention.

The same part is designated by the same reference numeral ,wherever it occurs throughout the several views,

Heretofore it has been a. common pra ctice in the operation'ol subway and elevated car systems to employ a plurality of cars connected up into a train of cars, and under the modern requirements ofrapid transit it is not unusual tocouple up asmany asten cars into a single train. It is also a common practice to en'iploy three or more doors on each side of each car, one door on each side being located at or adjacent each end of the -cai and one locatedintermediate the/car ends. It is also a common practice toem-f ploy power motors to effect the opening and closing moven'ients otthe doors. Usually a separate motor is en' ployed for each door. According to this practice it is the universal I custom to employ a guard at each end of each car. that is, a guard between the proximate ends of each. pair of cars, each guard controlling the operation oi the, end doors of the adjacent car endswhere he is stationed, and also the center or intermediate door on one of the ca rs. This practice necessitates the employment of at least nine guards, besides the motorman, on a ten car train, thereby imposinga heavy-financial burden upon the management of the system to meet the wage requirements of train crews of this size. Since rapid transit requirements demand the operation of trains with comparatively short intervals of time between succeeding trains it will be readily understood that the Wage requirements amount to extremely large proportions for the operation of trains in a. system like the subway system of New York city, for ex: ample. Vi ith the increased costs of material, fuel, labor, and other items requiredin the operation of a street, elevated, or subway system, the operating companies have found it extremely dilticnlt to nieetthe operating expenses fromthe low fares demanded by the public, and consequently the problem of reducing the expenses without decreasing the etliciency of the system, or the safety of operation, is one towards which attention of" the engineers is being concentrated.

It is proposed,"according to ourpresent in-' vention, to attain the resultsought by very largely reducing the number of guards required to operate or control the doors on a.

. train of cars. Forexample,'where it has "heretofo-re been necessary to employ at least. nine guards for a ten car tram, we prov de a door control mechanism wh ch w ll permit dispensing with the services of at'least four of the nine guards for each ten car train, and we propose to accomplish this result 'Wltllout sacrificing anything efliciency' or safety of operation of the system. On the contrary the safety of operation oftrainsis increased in the use of control system em-- 'with then no relief is secured from the financial burdens of the company. It is therefore among the special purposes of our present invention to provide mechanically operated devices and connections to control the door actuating motors, of such nature and relation as will permit largely the use of present equ pmentof the cars, and. re

quire the use of but few simple, inexpen si've additional parts which can be readily,

- easily and quickly installed on the present rolling stock, and this characteristic of our invention weregard as. of prime importance present and value as it. enables street and other'raih way companies to secure the benefits and advantages of our invention without delay 7 or excessive or prohibitive expense, indeed, at veryjshght expense and by u-tihzlng the ment. 7 v Referring to the drawings, reference numerals 6, T, designate respectively the proxh mate ends of adjacent carsof a train. Each car isprovided with the usual end doors 8, 9, and the intermediate door 10, ineach side thereof. Each door is operated by a motor 11 in the usual manner A ro'cli shaft 1.2 is suitably supportedfbeneath the body of the car ateach side thereof, the said shafts extending the whole length of the car. The I shaft 12 carries a crank arm 13, at each end thereof beneath the floor of. the car end vestibule. Each crank arm 13 is connected by means of a rod 14, to an operating lever 15, which is pivotallymounted as at 16 upon t-he outer end wall surface of the car end.-

Each' operating lever. is preferably,

' each car of the train is similarly equipped itrolling stock with its present equipclosed.

though not necessarily, formed or connected with a segment gear 17, see Fig. it, which meshes with a pinion 18, to which is con- I nee-ted a counterweight 19. This arrangement facilitates and renders quite easy the opera ion of rocking the shafts 12 from their operating'levers 15 at either end of the car. 7

Each shaft 12 is also provided with a crank arm 20-at or adjacent each door operating motor on the same sideof the car. Each crank arm 20 is suitably connected to an arm 21 through which the operation; of the associated motor is controlled. For ex: ample,the arm 21 may be the mot-or control valveoperating arm.

From. the foregoing description it will be seen that when any. one of the levers 15 at either end or side of a car is rocked, the shaft 12 on the corresponding side of the car is coincidently rocked, this manipulation being accomplished easily and smoothly by reason of the counterweight arrangement above described. The rocking of a shaft 12 on either side of the car simultaneously op-r crates the control connections for each door actuating motor, on the same side of the car therewith, thereby simultaneously moving all the doors on that side of the car. Since willbe seen that a single guard stationed ice j tween the proximate ends of two adjacent cars. of a. train is enabled to manipulate the controllever 15 on thesame-side of each of the cars, which.manipulation may be effect- 190 ed simultaneously or selectively, thereby causing all tliedoors on the same s deo't both. or either car at w ll to' be snnultane- I cusly opened or closed.

To facilitate the work. of the guard and. 195 to enable hnn to observe the boardingand ahghtmg movements ofpassengers at or n the vicinity of the doors under his control, a raised lookout platform 22 s POSltlOIlBd on the exterior wall of each carend below each in} motor controllever 15, a suflicient distance 1 for a'guard to stand thereon while manipulating the control levers,'thereby occupying an elevated position and enabling him to see over the headsof passengers. V The gears 17, 18, and weight 19 are preferably enclosed withinla shield or casing 23, which may afford a convenient arm rest for the guard when occupying his lookout or observation position on'the platform 22. If desirechand in order to still further insure safety of operation, a telltale or indicator device2 l, may be associated with each door to indicate whetheror not it is open or From the foregoing description it will be seen that we provide an exceedingly simple and efiicient mechanical control for the'doors in a'mult-iple unit car door controlsystem which iseconomical to install and maintain,

l lzi and wherein only one uard or operator is required for all the doors on each pair of cars in a train. Moreover, since it is the present custom to employ operating levers for the end gates on elevated railwaycars, and for the end doors of subway cars, it requires but very little additional connections or devices to apply a mechanical door control construction embodying our invention to the present rolling stock equipment, and hence the conversion of the present equipment may be effected expeditiously and at small expense.

It is to be understood that variations and changes in details will readily occur to those skilled in the art withoutdeparture from the spirit and scope of our invention.

Having now set forth the objects and nature of our invention, and a construction embodying the principles thereof, What We claim as new and useful and of our joint inent is- In a mechanically operated multiple unit car door control system and. in combination with the cars of a train, and a plurality of sliding doors for each car, of a rock shaft extending longitudinally the length of each car, means adjacent thedoors for sliding said doors to and fro, crank arms on said shaft in operative connection With said door sliding means, a rocker arm fastened to the end of said rocker shaft, said arm pivotally carrying an operating lever, and a governor for said lever for smoothly operating said lever and rocker shaft.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto set our hands on this 22d day of July, A. D., 1919.

FRANK HEDLEY. JAMES s. DOYLE. 

